The Assassin's Diary of Skyrim
by Shadow S Hearth
Summary: The Hero of Cyrodiil lives on. Oriel was a mere sixteen during the time of the Oblivion Crisis. She grew up as a thief and a pickpocket and ultimately, that was how she ended up in the dungeons with Uriel Septim. After completing her adventures as the Hero of Cyrodiil, she traveled forth to Morrowind that eventually led her to Skyrim, where she seeks enlightenment though Sithis.
1. The First Day

Sundas, 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201

I have managed to keep hold of my journal while escaping from the clutches of madness that this journey has suddenly turned into. I feel that it is best that I write this while the events are still fresh in my mind, that way I do not lose the sense of chaos that I had felt or the true feelings that I had in those precious moments that my life flashed before my eyes.

The only reason that I came to Skyrim in the first place is that Morrowind is in shambles. The Red Mountain has unleashed its wrath upon the land, and while I often revel in disaster, fire and brimstone raining from the sky atop my head – knowing that there is no way to escape it and that it was not caused by my own hand – simply is far too much for even me to revel in or to enjoy.

In walking away from one bad situation, I managed to walk myself straight into another purely by means of my own ignorance. I have lived too softly – too cushioned – in my lifestyle in Morrowind. I have forgotten the sense of adventure and that natural leeriness of both my surroundings and the people I would encounter. I had assumed, with so many fleeing from Morrowind that I would be safe… and that **disgusting** thought process had me knocked unconscious and placed in irons before I even knew what had really happened. I was placed in the back of a prisoners cart, my items taken from me – all but my journal and my undergarments taken from me – and placed with prisoners of a war that I hadn't even known was occurring.

In those fragile moments, just after watching one of the Stormcloaks be executed, I felt… elated. Perhaps that is a strange thing to feel, but my heart was pumping in my chest, like the adrenaline rushes I used to feel just after releasing an arrow into one of my targets. In a way – I felt like, soon, I would be going home to the void and that I would be feeling the Night Mother's embrace and be with Sithis in my death.

It seemed a fitting end – caught by the Imperial Legion, facing death for all of the crimes I had committed in Cyrodiil. I could have asked for no other, proper, death than the one I was facing before me. But just as I stepped up to join the Dread Father, I heard and saw something that I had never even imagined to be possible.

I suppose, in a way, after all I had been through in Cyrodiil, it should not have been such a shock. But watching the great dragon come down from the sky and land atop the tower, his voice roaring in my ears as the others fell from shock. Seeing him as he looked straight at **me**, as if he were there **because** of **me**, the only other feeling I had was… kinship for him, as if my blood called to his blood.

As I managed to stumble to my feet, my sight blurred from the flash of fire, I couldn't help but wonder – had this dragon been sent by Sithis in order to preserve me? I do not understand what my purpose is here in Skyrim just yet, but I feel it is important if my life was spared mere moments before it was forfeit.

I'm unsure now if the request that Rolof has made of me is important or not. A battle against the Imperial Legion could be of great importance, especially with their previous ties in infiltrating and destroying the Brotherhood. I have had to interfere with their attempts before now, after all.

For now, I will simply resupply myself here in Riverwood, with the assistance of Gerdur and her husband Hod. The townsfolk have been immensely helpful to me and I feel inclined to remain faithful to them and will travel to Whiterun as soon as I possibly can to inform the Jaarl of the dragons attack in Helgen.

Once that errand has been taken care of, I will see what more I can learn of my purpose here in Skyrim, but until then, Riverwood is a much needed and appreciated hideout for me to re-claim myself as an explorer, a bard, and an assassin.

Hail Sithis, for you have brought me purpose once again.


	2. Discovered Purpose

Morndas, 18th of Last Seed, 4E 201

It is confirmed… there is truly no doubt in my mind that Sithis brought the dragon to interfere in my execution and prolong my existence in this world. There are too many signs, too many coincidences, for it not to be so.

After my evening with Rolof, Gerdur, and Hod, I decided to visit the tavern to gain some information from the innkeeper. Almost immediately he began to inform me of word that a boy by the name of Aventus Aretino was attempting to contact the Dark Brotherhood.

This boy is located within Windhelm and, without a doubt; I have been being pushed in that direction in order to discover the fate of the Brotherhood. Once I am comfortable in my skills again – I shall present myself to this boy and accept the contract he is offering and fulfill it in the name of Sithis.

I am unsure as to why he has not been contacted as of yet – for Sithis hears the plea of all of his children and the Night Mother would have contacted the Listener already, wouldn't she? What is going on within the Brotherhood that I have remained ignorant of for so long? Why are rumors of him performing the Black Sacrament being spread across Skyrim, placing the Brotherhood in public eye?

Either way, I have no doubts that if I am to interrupt this contract, I shall be contacted by the Sanctuary here within Skyrim – either as a threat or a potential asset to the Sanctuary and it will open up an opportunity to meet them.

I **mustn't** ruin this opportunity to bring myself back to the Brotherhood. It is without a doubt that I have found my purpose here… I shall **not** ruin this opportunity. It is time that I remember and embrace who I was before I left Cyrodiil – Listener of the Black Hand. Sithis has his reasons to contact me in this fashion and I shall not disappoint him in the mission in which he has given me.

**-  
**_(On the next page, a set of notes has been written in a quick, scrawling hand within the journal. It seems to be an affirmation, of sorts, to her previous realizations.)  
_**  
**

_**"And behold, the sons of Sithis call upon me.  
I descend into the Void, my body turns to ash.  
I surrender my soul to the Dread Father.  
Embraced by the eternal darkness of the Black Sacrament,  
I am reborn, forged anew from the blood of the fallen."  
**_

**To break any of the tenets of the Dark Brotherhood is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis:  
**

Never dishonor the Night Mother.

Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets.

Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior.

Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister.

Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister.

I shall always remember my path to you, and when my time comes, I shall follow you into the Void, the realm from which you guide us with an invisible hand. No matter the centuries in which I have been gone from you, I have never broken this path… and you have been leading me – with chaos and destruction, as is your way – to return to you.


End file.
